Sustainability

Products cannot be included early enough in the planning of a circular manufacturing process. However, because early incorporation brings additional complexity into play, product decisions are often set aside for later manufacturing stages. At this point, a decision-making tool that systematically reduces complexity and generally simplifies the process is therefore of great value – especially if it can also be used as a source of inspiration and orientation aid in the innovation phase.

The topic of Openness is of growing importance for industry, especially in Europe. However, the term Openness is used very differently. Openness includes several concepts, including Open Source Hardware, Open Source Software, Open Data, Open Standards, Open Innovation, Open Science and Open Education. The concepts address different dimensions of Openness, all based on some kind of participation and with the goal to create more transparency and accessibility. This article defines the concepts and provides a basic understanding of their importance for industry and for greater sustainability.

In order to realize future improvements in circular product properties such as lifespan extension, continued use or high-quality recycling, industrial product development and design processes must take the entire ecological and economic life cycle of products into account. This article uses a company example to explain how such processes can be captured and analyzed using the Makigami method to support a comprehensive “Design for Circularity” concept. The chosen approach facilitates the identification of the application points of circular design decisions and the implementation of validated circular economy principles.

Bedingt durch globale Entwicklungen hinsichtlich der Preise und Versorgungssicherheit im Energiesektor stehen besonders energieintensive Unternehmen vor großen Herausforderungen. Zusätzlich fordern Kunden mehr Informationen über Energiekennzahlen und CO₂-Emissionen sowie ressourcenschonendere Prozesse. Mit einer energiedatenbasierten Simulationsmethode werden die Ressourceninformationen direkt aus dem Energiedatenmanagementsystem (EDMS) extrahiert und weiterverarbeitet. Hierbei werden sowohl aktuelle als auch stetig aktualisierte historische Daten verwendet, die automatisiert abgeglichen werden. Die digitale Abbildung der vorhandenen Prozesse ist lediglich auf Seiten der Energiedaten notwendig, ohne die technischen Prozesse in ihrer Gänze analysieren zu müssen. Mit dem so erstellten energetischen digitalen Schatten lassen sich Energiebedarfe für bevorstehende Produktionen und Produkte simulieren und können durch automatisierte Vorschläge in der Produktionsplanung positiv ...